bloom87

Hey guys

A friend of mine fell upon a neat randonneuse frame headed to the dump.

Parts are missing... the headset stack is incomplete.
Nevertheless, there is a bottom cup which I've never seen before. Maybe it'll ring someone's bell ?
Headset can be a pain to mix and match so I'm trying to find out what we're dealing with here.
G'day

Chombi1 

I was gonna say, probably Bador, but then I just remembered the serrations on the Bador and some older Stronglight headsets were in the part that goes into the head tube....

bloom87

and unless i'm missing something it's not on Velobase either

the mystery deepens.

3alarmer 

.
..I don't know what it is, but I would encourage you to simply pull that cup and replace the whole thing. Anyway, that's what I would do. Get one of the French diameter ones from Velo Orange, if that's what your frame measures out to be. It's less work and you'll get better results in the end. IMO, mixing headset parts is just not practical unless you are very poor.

Filochard

Maybe an unusual Gourgaud Compétition which had a ribbed bottom cup.
The Ets Gourgaud also built the Lightrace headsets.

Filochard

Found this ad published in 1978:

Salamandrine 

Or very rich... I guess that's one way to look at it. But some people might think that that is a cool vintage headset and worth saving.

If you're entirely concerned with being practical, you'd be better off buying a Trek or Cannondale and tossing the vintage bikes in the trash.

bloom87

Uh oh ! thread revival !

More info, finally !
Mais très étrange : no marking and also, a weird design kind of like the stronglight JDX 94 but not really, as there are no sign of a delrin "lock"
What I mean : one piece top nut.
Maybe the stem is the key to the mystery. When you come to think of it, a stem with a non-adjustable height or some other weird mechanisme could act as lock nut... [???]

see pics
also a bonus pic of installed directe mount mafacs ;-)
can't wait to put some kool stop on them and try to feel a difference in braking power (vs normal centerpulls)

PS merci filochard :-D

cyclotoine

didn't realize you had the top pieces in reading this. well you can always use a threadless adapter as a last resort but that would be a little ugly. At least it would alloy you to apply compression to the headset.

bloom87

well I didn't have it until today ! found it in the parts bin of the coop. maybe next time i'll find the stem :-D

crazy weird... i love this bike ! i'm building it for a very dear friend :-D

yes, compression. but at this point i'm really thinking of changing the whole thing.
because it doesn't look too functional as it stands and also, the looks are terrible, kind of tinfoil hat Reese style.
but you got to appreciate that someone did a custom alloy headsets in the 70es...
experimenting.... new things... lol

unworthy1

totally weird looking HS and not one I have seen before...but the rest of it (Frame and Mafacs) looks great and well worth restoring to daily use!

chill91

Hello, sorry for necroposting, but the subject of this thread is quite unique.
I've the same headset. Is that randonneuse a Cattin?

bloom87

yes, it is
just stumbled upon my old thread while searching for unrelated info
it is a cattin
i built it for my girlfriend and someone stole it... probably the most unique frame i ever owned.
RIP !

1simplexnut

hiya that is so sad that gotten stolen . Pox on bicycle thieves !

Also do I spot a Courtois frame in behind your first pic of the green frame.??
Any more pictures of that ?

Cheers

chill91

Thanks for your reply and sorry for your and her loss.

I can confirm that the headset is complete and I'm convinced that was something that Daniel Cattin used to build or source for a few of his bicycles; the design is very similar to some JPR (Jean-Paul Routens, the son of Jo Routens) and BF (Belleri Francois) branded headsets, the latter probably being the actual manufacturer.

My 80s Cattin is still a work in progress (I too have decided to replace the headset because of the "indexed steering"), but surely it has its peculiarities (quill seatpost, brazed-on centerpull pivots and rear cable hanger, drilled stem, a fork that is French in diameter, British in threading, etc.). Daniel Cattin built custom bikes near Grenoble, France; he retired in 2015 and Cycles Cattin is now run by Fabien Bonnet.

bloom87

the courtois is long gone ; was too small.

yeah and the person who stole it probably never realized what an exceptional bike it was

bloom87

thanks for this info
i follow the cattin page on facebook, good stuff. the spirit definitely lives on !